Yankees Option Relievers to Make Room for New Arms After Trade Deadline Moves

In Deadline Day housekeeping, the Yankees cleared space in the bullpen by optioning Yerry de los Santos and Ian Hamilton to Triple-A, and brought in Jake Bird, David Bednar, and Camilo Doval to fortify a relief corps that’s flat-out been bleeding in July.

That leaves one more move to be made before the revamped bullpen will be complete.

Hamilton’s departure raised eyebrows.

The veteran right-hander had been a staple of the Yankees' bullpen for a while. He struck out 42 in 40 innings this season with a 4.28 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, but July wasn’t kind. His last seven outings saw an 8.53 ERA over 6.1 innings, landing him squarely in the “low confidence” tier per the latest Yankees Reliever Confidence Index.

De los Santos was the other odd man out.

He posted a tidy 1.80 ERA in 20 innings, with a 12:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but he has options and that always puts a young reliever in danger. The decision speaks volumes De los Santos’ 1.70 WHIP and elbow concerns made him a depth piece in the eyes of the coaching staff.

In comes Bird, bringing strikeout upside and polarized stats—from a 29-inning stretch in Denver with a 2.48 ERA to a 7.40 ERA in just 24.1 road innings. Now paired with Bednar as the high-leverage additions, and Doval’s power arm from San Francisco, New York looks like a different profile on paper.

These moves almost totally remodeled the bullpen, which will have to find more room when Mark Leiter Jr., Fernando Cruz and Ryan Yarbrough come off the injured list.

Behind Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, and Tim Hill, the rebuilt relief crew demands new arms that can be trusted in big spots. And Bird’s funky mechanics and whiff rate make him worthy of a look, despite his extremes. Hamilton and De los Santos served their purpose, but they weren’t moving the needle.

Now, the Yankees will need these new additions to perform quickly. The rotation is finding wins. The infield’s settling.